


for curiosity's sake

by glazing



Series: i'll see you in the morning [1]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Established Relationship, M/M, Mistaken Identity, One-Sided Attraction, Relationship Reveal, Team Bonding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:53:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25623193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glazing/pseuds/glazing
Summary: apparently kagami - rough, brash, loud, and borderline rude kagami - has a significant other. his team has multiple theories on who could handle him but none of them are really prepared for kuroko tetsuya.(or kagami's college days before going pro)
Relationships: Kagami Taiga/Kuroko Tetsuya
Series: i'll see you in the morning [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/390319
Comments: 26
Kudos: 133





	1. one

**Author's Note:**

> i deleted the first original chapter so all the comments from that chapter are gone sadly.  
> i'm sorry i didn't get to reply to you but your kind words are always appreciated.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> pierce falls in love, the team roasts, kagami laments.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this has been edited and expanded! if you want to check out the original work again, it’s the latest/last chapter in my one shot series “captivated”. pierce callahan, isaiah, marcello, and matias are some of my many ocs who will continue to show up in this universe.

Pierce Callahan fell in love for the first time on a balmy September afternoon at the tender age of twenty.

He wasn’t expecting it to happen minutes before what promised to be the start of a god awful semester learning about early Western civilizations but weirder things have happened. He was sitting in a depressing lecture hall with a few dozen tiny freshmen, stewing and regretting his decision to put off his gen-eds until his third year. But in his defence, it was hard to schedule courses at all when he couldn’t stop switching majors. He finally nailed himself down to the very vague and very nebulous communications major last year and was still paying for his tardiness by having to take classes with borderline infants. 

It didn’t help that he stood out just by existing - he stood a head and a half taller than most of the kids here and their eyes ended up shifting towards him unwillingly or not. He was the biggest feature in the room and he also had the bad luck of showing up late enough that all of the seats in the back were taken. So there he was: sitting in the center of the front row like an over eager student when all he really wanted to do was fall asleep and eat his weight in cereal before he had to go to practice in two hours. With a look at the clock, he sighed and buried his head into his arms, waiting for sweet sweet death to release him from his body before class started.

A little tap at his shoulder made him squirm in place and he ignored it, hoping that whatever it was would go away. Another tap came a moment later and he hissed under his breath, feeling cranky and sore and annoyed. Pierce was usually known for being effusive and bubbly but coach had run his team ragged after a new freshman single handedly destroyed a group of starters in a three on three during tryouts. He was dealing with both hurt pride and hurt body at this point and it was affecting him enough that his default friendly nature was replaced for something else. One more tap at his shoulder had him snapping, whipping his head up with a glare on his face, ready to make a scene right before class started.

“Dude, what do you - uhhhh.”

Pierce was rarely struck speechless, he was of the kind that believed that all silences should be filled with something, anything but there was nothing he could say or do but stare, mouth agape, probably with embarrassingly obvious heart eyes when faced with such a beautiful person. 

“All the other seats are taken, is this spot available?”

Even the deadpan, borderline emotionless delivery couldn’t take away from how enraptured Pierce felt in that moment. Pierce didn’t say anything, just pulled out the rolling chair next to him with a flourish, gesturing with a hand for the other to sit. He received a raised eyebrow and Pierce got the distinct impression that he was not impressed. He wrinkled his nose but sat delicately, giving Pierce a level, hooded eye stare that was probably supposed to be intimidating but unfortunately for mystery cutie, it just made him more attractive. Now, Pierce wasn’t arrogant but he knew his value, he knew right where he was batting so he could easily concede when someone was out of his league. Luckily, the person settling in next to him was only a tiny bit (‘way, way,  _ WAY _ , out of your league’ his rational mind screamed) unattainable and he could work with that.

“Sorry ‘bout that,” he started, leaning his head against his fist, looking down at the other person with a smirk. “Didn’t have a good morning but it’s looking so much better now.”

He got another blank stare and a thin lipped smile like he was getting impatient and Pierce started to backtrack, a little put off that that didn’t get anything.

‘You fucking idiot,’ he berated himself. ‘Look at him, he’s dressed nicely, has a beautiful face and blue (blue!) hair. He probably gets lines like that thrown at him more times in an afternoon than you’ve had smart thoughts in your life!’

“I’m Pierce,” he ended up adding awkwardly. “Callahan. You a freshman?”

“Ah, yes,” came the reply hesitantly. “I am Kuroko Tetsuya - rather, Tetsuya Kuroko. You may call me Kuroko if you prefer. Are you a freshman as well?”

Pierce only noticed the accent then it was, frankly, adorable and he clung onto the hope that this was going okay and was only bumpy because of communication issues rather than personality ones. 

“Nope, I’m a junior because I’m a dumbass that can’t schedule things to save my life.” Pierce replied, giddy, mouth moving before his mind could edit it. “And your name is cute as fuck. Can I call you Kuro? Or is that like, too fast?”

Kuroko pursed his lips in thought, a finger to his chin like he was really considering it. After a moment of deliberation, he shrugged and nodded.

“You are certainly enthusiastic, but why not?” he replied with amused tolerance. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Let’s get along well during this semester.”

He reached out a small pale hand and Pierce grabbed it gently, trying to keep his marveling at the size difference discreet. His skin was soft but his grip was strong and he shook his hand with purpose.

“Same here.”

Kuroko smiled at him properly this time, a pretty little thing on pink lips. That’s when Pierce knew it was all over for him.

* * *

Pierce wanted to hate the new kid, like honest to God, hate him. But he wasn’t a douche bag, worked harder than was probably healthy, never acted like he was better than them and was polite, if awkward, to his upperclassmen. But he was also smart with plays, gave advice to anyone who asked and wasn’t afraid to be honest. It was like he fell out of a good sportsmanship handbook and it was infuriating as much as it was endearing, especially when he got extra uncomfortable when the starting team would compliment and tease him.

When he confessed that he was a fan of theirs and watched their games on TV, that sealed the deal and he sort of became the team’s favorite kid. He was almost guaranteed a spot on the starting team anyway after his performance during tryouts.

“Tiiiiiger!” Pierce called out from across the gym. “Get over here, kid!”

Kagami caught a chest pass from another freshman without looking at him and glanced up to see Pierce waving him down from the starting team’s side of the gym. He gave a quick nod to his partner who waved him off and bounced the ball back before jogging over.

“Yeah?” he panted, wiping at the sweat on his forehead with his jersey. “What’s up, Callahan?”

“Alright, so give me some advice. And be as brutal as you need to be.” Pierce started, dribbling the ball casually and passing it to Kagami.

“Okay? Shoot.” Kagami replied, bouncing the ball, once, twice before taking a shot.

“Oh my God, Kags. Just start fucking running, dude. He’s just gonna yap about the ‘love of his life’ for an hour.” Marcello said from the floor a few feet away from them.

He was sweating profusely, stretching to cool down, just having finished footwork drills with half the starting team.

“He has a new one every other week, it just becomes background noise.” Marcello continued mercilessly. “Save yourself the pain.”

Kagami barked out a laugh, not even a little swayed by Pierce’s pouting, betrayed face.

“Dude, fuck off, this time it’s-.”

“Endgame, yeah yeah. You always say that, I can literally give you a fucking script with how much this asshole goes on and on and on.” Marcello interrupted.

“Just say you hate me and go, Marcello!” Pierce yelled, throwing his towel at Marcello’s head.

It flew a fair distance and hit his target with a satisfying ‘thwap’.

“I hate you,” Marcello replied with Pierce’s towel wrapped around his face. “This is disgusting.”

“You deserve it!”

“Oh my God, you clowns,” Kagami interrupted, having made a few shots in the interim. “Can you just ask me what you want before coach gets on my ass again for talking to you guys instead of practicing - you know, like we’re all supposed to be doing?”

“Oh fuck,” Pierce replied, looking around the gym surreptitiously. “Okay, we’re clear but I’ll make it quick just in case his demon senses catch us.”

Kagami rolled his eyes and threw the ball back to Pierce.

“So,” Pierce started, uncharacteristically bashful. “Say there’s a cute as fuck person who sits next to you every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, yeah? And you know you could be perfect together, like peanut butter and chocolate kind of love, but it’s been months and it’s going nowhere fast.”

Kagami looked at him blankly. 

“What? What the fuck are you asking?”

“God damn it, I knew you were the wrong person to ask! You would date a basketball if it was socially acceptable.” Pierce complained. “Marcello, dude, come on! This is the last time, I swear. Once I start dating the love of my life, I won’t need to ask for advice anymore because, you know, we’ll be in love or some shit.”

“You didn’t even ask a question!” Kagami said incredulously, left feeling a little out of place as Pierce turned his complete attention back to Marcello who only flipped him off.

“Yes, I did! You just can’t read between the lines because there’s zero romance in your stupidly big body.” Pierce replied, patting him on the head condescendingly.

Or at least, he tried to - Kagami was a good seven inches taller than him, the gargantuan kid.

“What the f-.”

“Shhh, it’s okay dude.” Pierce interrupted his bewildered reply. “You’re just a late bloomer. I mean the team was already planning to set you up with a very big, very cute lady on the women’s team and you’ll soon be making giant babies. It’ll be fucking rainbows and puppies, alright. Just let me solve my problem first and then we can move on to yours.”

“Quit teasing the kid,” Marcello scolded. “Don’t listen to him Kags, he doesn’t even know the meaning of monogamy. This is just another phase and we’ll hear about someone else from some other thing next week.”

“Set me up?!” Kagami spluttered, mind still working two steps behind from all of Pierce’s nonsensical logical leaps. “No!”

“YES!” Pierce insisted, pinching Kagami’s cheeks who only looked more and more upset. “Ball  _ is _ life but life also includes social interaction!”

“I can’t believe you just said that right in front of me, in my own goddamn home.” came another teammate’s voice from behind them. “I should have security throw you out on your ass.”

Their point guard, Isaiah, plodded over in their direction tiredly before flopping next Marcello on the floor. And usually Pierce appreciated his dry and acerbic wit but not this time, not when it was directed at him while he was going through a crisis. He gripped at Kagami’s cheeks tighter, not noticing his actions as he was being thoroughly ganged up on by people who were supposed to be his friends. He just wanted advice, not to get fucking roasted alive.

“Isaiah, mercy,  _ please _ ,” he begged. “You won’t stop insulting me, Marcello is a dumbass, Connor basically told me to fuck off and even Saint fucking Gabriel just walked away when I tried to get some advice. I had to resort to the kid and he didn’t even know what I was talking about!”

“Hey! This dumbass helped you the first few times, but I can’t help that your personality is garbage.”

“Eh, not my problem.” 

Isaiah promptly rolled over, turning away from Pierce and his dramatics completely.

“Christ alive,” Pierce wailed. “You guys want me to die alone!”

“Fucking stop!” Kagami finally snapped, slapping Pierce’s hands away from his aching cheeks. “First of all, if you pinch my cheeks again I will punt you across campus. Second, just ask whoever the fuck out and stop being a coward. If they’re receptive, good. If they aren’t, then move the fuck on.”

To Pierce’s utter disbelief, Marcello gave Kagami a thumbs up and even Isaiah gave a noise of approval. Pierce just looked at him incredulously before reaching up and scrubbing his hands through his hair frustrated.

“Did you read that shit off of Cosmopolitan, Tiger? This is the real world, that doesn’t work! People like mystery and games and what not, if I come right out and do that I’ll look like an aggressive creep!”

“What are you on?” Kagami snorted. “You probably already look like an aggressive creep tiptoeing around this poor girl. Put yourself out of your misery and just do it.”

There was a chorus of taunts from the peanut gallery which grew in size as coach finally let the rest of the starters have their break. A bunch of grown ass men piled themselves on the floor like puppies, some of them stretching to cool down and others taking the time to hydrate.

“Oh shit, are we finally having that intervention?” their center, Matias, asked gesturing over at Pierce with his water bottle. “I thought that was next week.”

“That’s still going on next week,” Isaiah replied, waving a flippant hand behind him. “Pierce is just being himself again and dragged the poor kid in it.”

“God, which one is this one about - International Business or 20th Century Media Issues?”

“Neither. Both of those were last semester so he’s forgotten about them by now. It’s all about Early Western Civ now.”

Pierce saw Kagami start at that in his peripheral vision and he immediately jumped to his own defense since everyone else wanted to drag it through the mud.

“So I fall in love a lot. But those were all legitimate!” he insisted.

“Yeah?” Matias snorted. “List three personal things about International Business, not including their eyes, ass or ‘the cute way they snort when they laugh at my jokes’.”

Kagami leveled a disgusted look at him and Pierce was so close to snapping and leaving them behind to explain to coach why he quit the team, he was actually getting bullied at this point.

“ALRIGHT, OKAY. Maybe I’d shut up if any of you actually gave good advice!” Pierce replied childishly.

“Kags gave you actual valid advice, which is more than you deserve by the way, and you just threw it back in his face but okay, we’re the problem.” 

Isaiah’s voice was dripping in derision and Pierce resisted the urge to cower; luckily, he had bravado and the pride of a three year old who was just told their opinion was wrong so that feeling passed relatively quickly.

“In what world is that good advice? That’d never work on an actual human being.”

“What the fuck?” Kagami said, sounding offended this time. “That’s literally what I did and my partner and I have been together for three years, so who’s the fucking idiot here?"

And it was like a record scratch going off in Pierce’s brain. 

“What?” he asked faintly.

He didn’t know why he was so shocked by this but the last thing he expected was Taiga - socially awkward, perpetually shy with the girls on the cheer team, only knows basketball and breathing Taiga - to have a partner, and a long term one at that.

“Eyyy!” came Marcello’s obnoxiously cheerful voice. “My man, way to put him in his place but also why haven’t you said anything?!”

“Afraid we’ll steal her away with our mediocre looks and subpar personalities, kid?” Isaiah said sarcastically but his eyes were lit up brighter than Pierce had seen in a while. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep my charm at minimal levels if it makes you feel better."

Kagami predictably exploded red and started stuttering so badly through his explanations that he was barely coherent.The team converged on him like a pack of hyenas, gently teasing and ribbing him for hiding his girlfriend before making an over exaggerated pact that none of them would try and steal her away from Tiger. Pierce was left by the wayside, still gaping and astounded by this new information. But as he watched Tiger get more and more flustered, all he felt was affection and warmth. God, this kid had only been there for a few months and the team would all kill for him.

“Okay!” Pierce yelled, bringing the attention back to himself.

Kagami threw him such a grateful look that he almost felt bad for what he was going to do next.

“Thank you for volunteering to be my dating coach Tiger, I’m free Tuesday and Friday evenings! When can we schedule in some one on one time? My goal is to marry Early Western Civ by the end of next month so I’m going to need an accelerated version of whatever your program usually entails.”

Pierce babbled on and the feeling of warm sadism only grew when the team patted Kagami on the shoulder but ultimately left him to his fate. This was going to be so much fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> picture me: tickled fucking PINK by the information that most nba power forwards are about 6’7” to 6’11” meaning my 5’8” kuroko stands perfectly level with my 6’10” kagami’s shoulders. my size kink died and was reborn again - i would just like to welcome it back with open, loving arms. 
> 
> i’m on twitter now, [@glazingao3](twitter.com/glazingao3), sharing my unasked opinions (mostly about bnha) and my annoyance with writing lmao. someone teach me how to properly use it, thanks.


	2. two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> kagami babysits nigou for the day, pierce can't take a hint.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have no idea how long i want this to be: the title of my unfinished autobiography.

Despite finding zero support amongst his teammates, Pierce found himself back again the next morning basically asking to be bullied. To be fair, he did plan on meeting with Kagami last night but the kid bailed at the last second because of an “emergency”. If it were any time other than their first meeting as dating coach and coachee(?), he would’ve been completely understanding but the entire thing seemed off from the get go. What emergency could possibly happen on a Tuesday night and just so happen to fall between the hours that their hang out was scheduled?

So yes, Pierce was suspicious and loathe as he was to admit it, actually hurt. Not that he’d go around saying that to the rest of the team - they’d jump onto that moment of weakness and exploit it until he was running out of the gym crying. But there wasn’t time to examine his feelings then because he was busy trying not to die - from the second that their coach entered the gym, there was annoyance on his face and a snarl on his lips. He only grew angrier as their freshmen slowly trickled into practice with the zealousness and energy of dead snails. Those in their second year and beyond knew better than to test him while he was like this and stayed clear out of coach’s line of sight, hoping he’d take his anger out on some poor first year sap instead.

“Connor?” Pierce called out timidly, trying to get his friend’s attention without incurring the wrath of their coach who was looking positively murderous by now, he was chomping at the bit, just waiting for someone to come close enough to bite their head off whole. “You know where Tiger is?”

“Hm?” Connor replied, tilting his head discreetly in Pierce’s direction. “Nope, but he has three minutes before the freshmen start practicing and about two minutes before coach rips him a new asshole.”

“Oh yikes,” Pierce whispered, feeling some of his hurt from the entire Kagami situation abate at that information. “He told me he had an emergency last night, you think that has anything to do with why he’s late?”

Connor’s head whipped around and he looked at Pierce like he was both the answer to life’s questions but also like Pierce was a lemming on the edge of a cliff and he couldn’t believe that he was somehow still alive after all this time.

“Why the fuck didn’t you say so earlier? We could’ve said something to coach and then he wouldn’t be in such a bad mood!” Connor hissed. 

“Well I mean, I wasn’t gonna go up there and get in his face! What if he rips it off?” Pierce whimpered.

“You are the worst,” Connor replied. “I don’t want the kid to die so I’m gonna say something.”

“Dude no! What if you set him off?”

“So? At least the kid won’t have to suffer coach on an eleven right after having an emergency! Plus this is Kags we’re talking about it was probably, like, an actual emergency.”

Connor nodded to himself and shuffled over, making the brave decision to get into coach’s direct eye line. Coach’s head whipped around in his direction immediately like a shark scenting blood in the water. Pierce could swear he could see actual hell flames in his eyes even from where he stood across the building.

“Uh, coach?” Connor squeaked. “If you’re looking for Kagami, we just found out that-.”

The doors to the gym opened in the middle of Connor’s high pitched explanation and Kagami shuffled in, walking slower than someone seemingly on death row should have. He moved carefully and kept his back to the rest of the team as he entered the space. It was only when the doors swung shut that Pierce and the rest of the team could see what was making Kagami slow down and ignore the entire gym that much.

A behemoth of an animal plodded along tiredly in front of Kagami, huge head lolling gently with each step it took. If Pierce didn’t know any better, Kagami was slowly backing away from a drunk looking monochrome lion. But no, it was just an especially large dog that Kagami kept a worried gaze on as it took heavy, lumbering steps following Kagami’s gentle, encouraging voice. When the kid finally noticed just how silent the gym was, witnessing the very weird sight of an animal in the gym, he turned around and flushed. 

Kagami, to be perfectly candid, looked like absolute shit. He had heavy bags under his bloodshot eyes, a few lines creased on his face from where he probably fell asleep on his arm and the air of someone who just wanted to sleep off the entire day. That and he was wearing the same hoodie he had on when they all left practice yesterday afternoon.

“Coach,” he said, already apologetic. “I’m sorry, my dog had a really bad reaction to something, our usual sitter isn’t available and my partner is on their way back from another state and I couldn’t leave him alone at home since he needs pain medication and antibiotics every hour and-.”

Miraculously, coach didn’t take his head off right then and there and only laid a heavy hand on Kagami’s shoulder. He sighed when Kagami’s mouth shut with a click, looking tired, sad, and anxious.

“Kid, why didn’t you just call or text us?” Coach’s voice was, dare he say, gentle as he led Kagami to sit down on the nearest bench,

Connor mouthed a quick ‘what the fuck?’ over at Pierce who shrugged helplessly.

‘Favorite kid?’ Pierce mouthed back and then looked back at the duo with thinly veiled interest.

Kagami was nodding emphatically while coach looked on apprehensively, but clearly Kagami had gotten his way on  _ something _ because he was bounding off to the locker room without coach screaming after him but not without giving a gentle pat on the giant dog sitting obediently by the bench he had just vacated.

“Uh, is the kid going home coach?” Marcello piped up, braver than any goddamn man. “He looks like shit.”

Thankfully, it seemed like it was safe to talk to coach again, it was like all the anger left and left behind a tired husk of a man.

“No,” he replied shortly. “Kid insisted he could practice today. He just asked for permission to let the dog stay here during practice.”

It was probably the combination of “favorite kid” and “dog” that softened the anger that nearly reached a boiling point not five minutes ago - arguably, two of coach’s greatest weaknesses. Pierce could already see coach resisting the urge to pat the seemingly gentle giant dog on the head as he huffed and puffed before lying down on massive front paws, big blue eyes slipping shut. Kagami basically skidded out of the locker room a second later with fresh clothes and wet hair and gave a deep bow to their coach, reminding Pierce all over again that the kid had spent all of high school back in Japan.

“Thank you!” he shouted in a bow.

He turned to the rest of the team who paused in their stretches to look at the guest Kagami brought in and gestured a little helplessly over to the sleeping dog.

“Uh, this is my partner’s dog, Nigou. Don’t worry about him, he’s probably going to be sleeping the entire time. He’s used to be my high school basketball team’s mascot so he’s used to the noise, he won’t do anything to mess any of you up, I swear.”

“Dude, why the fuck is he massive though? What are you feeding him?” Pierce asked in awe, watching the animal quietly breathe.

Kagami rolled his eyes but shrugged his shoulders with the air of a man defeated.

“I have no idea, would you believe me if I said that he used to fit in the palm of my hand?”

“You  _ liar _ -!” Pierce was cut off by a shrill whistle and everyone straightened, automatically assuming their position on the sideline without a second thought.

“Alright, shut the fuck up! I’m gonna grind everyone single one of you lazy fuckers into the dirt today, thirty laps around the court!” Coach called out, not moving from the bench he parked himself on, making obvious eyes at the drowsy dog next to him.

The starters ran without much prompting leaving a few grizzling first years in their wake. Kagami, who would usually lead the pack without fail, fell in the middle today and there was a ripple and low murmur of concern that Kagami didn’t seem to notice. Pierce winced, feeling guilty at the annoyance he was feeling for the kid earlier and for almost throwing him under the bus. Few things hampered the kid so this was obviously something serious. He looked as determined as ever, however, and seemed to pick up speed as coach paired them off with each other to practice some shooting and defending drills. 

Pierce got lost in his drill against Isaiah and only broke out of his hyper focused mindset when coach called both him and Kagami over for individual work with their assistant coaches. Kagami looked uncharacteristically winded but nodded sharply and firmly as coach ran down what he was going to practice with Iman. Amir, Iman’s brother and their other assistant coach gestured Pierce over and ran down his own scheduled work. After two years on the team, Pierce knew what to do by now, his individual work focused primarily on shooting and offense with coach calling out various plays to practice and ingrain; Amir ran him ragged, playing a solid, heavy defense, forcing him to get creative on shots he'd usually find easy. Not every throw went in but both he and Amir were satisfied when his individual work came to an end and he was sent off for a quick break with an approving grunt from coach who was overseeing the entire court like an extra intimidating gargoyle.

Pierce cooled down with a few stretches before a heavily breathing Kagami plopped down next to him having been shooed off into his own break by Iman. Pierce had watched with a sympathetic wince as Iman shot down every attempt Kagami made to practice a little more; she eventually jumped onto a nearby bench, grabbed Kagami into a headlock and gave him a harsh noogie with all knuckles until he gave in and took his break.

“Hey,” Kagami started, already preciously awkward. “So um, I’m very sorry for ditching last night. I swear to God, I meant to come. I hope I didn’t come off as rude or a dick, I really did want to come.”

Pierce’s heart melted.

“Aww, buddy.” He simpered, gleefully squeezing at Kagami’s forearm with restrained affection. “Dude, it’s totally fine, you don’t have to apologize. It looks like you had a rough night, I totally get it."

Kagami blew out a long breath and laughed ruefully.

“Yeah,” he replied, still awkward. “It wasn’t the best. But still, I want to apologize. I hope you can forgive me.”

It was a little stilted and rehearsed like he made a script prior to talking to him and followed along in his head but Pierce was grateful nonetheless. The apology soothed that hurt he didn’t want to admit he held and he grinned, still holding onto Kagami. Poor kid looked like he wanted to take his arm out of Pierce’s enthusiastic grip but didn’t know how to do so politely and eventually stayed stiff, clearly feeling a little off balance. Pierce wasn’t a terrible guy but he really couldn’t help himself.

“Of course dude, honestly nothing to forgive!” he said, sly. “But you have to let me pet your dog! And then everything is cool.”

The tense line in Kagami’s shoulders relaxed and he laughed, rubbing the back of his neck bashfully.

“Go ahead, Nigou’s a good dog - he won’t bite. He looks fucking scary but he’s harmless.”

With a barely repressed squeal of delight, Pierce shot up and jogged his way over to the resting dog. Its massive head was still laying in between two big paws but the rest of its body was curled up into a tight little circle, looking like the world’s fuzziest doughnut. Pierce hovered, waiting for Kagami to make his way over and barely noticed his coach peeking over to see what they were doing.

“Just be careful around his back, he wasn’t taking fluids well so they had to do some crazy hydrating thing and now he’s got a lump of liquid in his back.” Kagami fretted, sitting next to his dog, immediately putting his head on his lap.

The dog, Nigou, perked up at the sight of his owner and his tail wagged, if a little weakly. A huge tongue lolled out of a mouth full of sharp teeth and Pierce flinched despite the earlier assurances.

“Tiger, you sure big dude isn’t a wolf or something? Look at those teeth!” his voice slipped into something more like cooing against his will and he resisted the urge to reach out and squish the big lug’s face. “Who's a ferocious predator? Whose mouth can eat the entire world? You, big buddy, you!”

He made grabby hands and wriggling fingers at the dog who looked at him with blue eyes like he was a fascinating new animal in his purview. Kagami snorted but gestured him over and Pierce came closer, basically fluttering around Nigou like an overexcited butterfly. When Pierce finally got a hand on Nigou’s head, he made a high pitched noise of despairing adoration.

“Oh my god, he’s so fuzzy.”

Pierce wanted to cry, was that normal?

Someone cleared their throat behind Pierce and he couldn’t bring himself to stop petting Nigou to give anyone the time of day.

“Uh, is he feeling okay Kagami?” Coach asked nonchalantly and not like he would actually fucking die if he didn’t get to pet the dog. “Does he need anything?”

Their coach once stopped the bus on their way to a tournament to go and rescue a dog stuck in a fence. The entire endeavor including the part where he returned the dog to its crying owners who were going out of their minds shouting the dog’s name up and down the neighborhood, only took about ten minutes but coach once cursed out an entire line of traffic into moving because they were going to be a minute late of their intended arrival (which was already an hour before they let teams sign in because Amir and Iman were notorious for being too early). To say he had a soft spot was an understatement.

“Nah, his next dose isn’t for another half hour,” Kagami replied fondly, rubbing at the dog’s head. “If you want, you can pet him too, coach. He’s just a big baby.”

Coach did his best to not seem like he was running over but the way he dropped his precious clipboard onto the bench like it was nothing belied his actions. He rubbed at Nigou’s ears gently before scratching under his chin and around his jaw. Nigou’s head lolled, nuzzling into coach’s hand gently as if asking for more pets and settled with a pleased huff into a looser position on his side like a monochrome croissant and Pierce died.

Pierce turned around, falling onto his hands and knees and punched the ground twice.

“That was so cute!” he cried and coach just shushed him, reminding him that Nigou was still sleepy.

Kagami, the big kid that he was, just laughed at the two of them and got back up to sit on the sideline, already ready to continue practice. If coach rounded up the entire team and started talking without taking a hand off of Nigou then that was just his business.

* * *

“I love him,” Isaiah declared, deadpan. “I want to give him everything he wants and needs.”

Nigou’s head was laid in his lap as he scratched the dog into a crooning sleep and he looked like he didn’t want to be anywhere else. A creeping hand came from his left and Isaiah didn’t even have to look as he slapped a hand away from what he deemed was his dog now.

“I want to pet the doggy!” Connor suddenly cried out, trying to make his way through the thicket of grown men crowding around Kagami’s dog. “Move, you assholes!”

Isaiah smirked; Connor was one of the larger players on the team and would usually have no issue getting through a crowd but in this case, his main obstacles were their two starting centers, Matias and Gabriel. Their substantial heights and body masses made it nearly impossible for anyone to get a closer look at Nigou who was soaking up the attention like a starved sunflower. Matias’ face was set in a sulky moue and he held his hand to his chest, looking to the world like an injured toddler and not a behemoth of a man.

“Isaiah, you dick!” he complained, still trying to get a pet in the forcefield that Isaiah’s quick eyes and hands created.

“My dog doesn’t want you touching him.” Isaiah insisted as he allowed Gabriel a gentle pet on Nigou’s fuzzy flank and a tiny scratch behind the ears. “Go away before I make him eat you.”

“Gabriel!” Matias and Connor both protested, feeling betrayed.

Gabriel looked at them with timid, limpid eyes looking far too vulnerable for someone who literally was seven feet tall.

“I-I’m sorry,” he said nervously. “He’s so cute.”

“Don’t bully Gabriel,” Isaiah ordered, tugging Gabriel by the hand so he could pet Nigou some more. “If he wants to pet Nigou, he can pet Nigou.”

“Unfair!” Connor roared.

“Favoritism!” Matias called. 

“Yes, and neither of you are my favorites so fuck off.”

“What the hell are you guys doing?”

Nigou woke up from his pleasant doze at the sound of Kagami’s voice and bounced his way over looking perky and excited, a huge improvement from four hours ago at the start of practice. Kagami patted the dog on his neck as he leashed him; Nigou waited patiently and sat still, letting his owner fix his collar before headbutting his leg in apparent affection.

Isaiah looked at his empty lap with mute betrayal.

“My dog,” he said sorrowfully. “Kags, that’s my dog.”

Kagami squinted at him.

“Yeah, okay, no. If you want him, you’re going to have to fight my partner for custody and that’s a fight you’re definitely not gonna win.” he replied confidently.

“Oh my God, he really is dating a big beefy lady.” Marcello whispered. “How tall is she? Six foot three? Six foot five?”

Kagami just gave him an unamused stare. 

“Oh my  _ God _ , seven foot?!” Marcello shrieked, fearing the worst. “Isaiah, dude, she’s gonna fucking eat you for dinner!”

Isaiah glared at him for the reminder that he was, somehow, the shortest member of the team at his not insubstantial height of six foot even. He turned to look at Kagami with a critical eye.

“I can spin it in my favor,” Isaiah replied confidently. “I’m way hotter than Tiger, I can steal your girl’s heart and then we won’t have to fight for custody.”

“Ohhh!” the team cried in unison.

“Fuck, Isaiah just called you ugly, my guy!” Matias yelled, shaking him by the shoulder as he scream-laughed too close to Kagami’s ears.

“Nah,” Isaiah cut in, looking bored and smug. “I just know I’m more attractive.”

“You know he’s not serious, right?” Gabriel, ever pure, asked Kagami nervously. “He would never disrespect you or your girlfriend like that.”

“Who said anything about disrespect? I’d treat Kagami’s girlfriend right.” Isaiah said, offended. “I’d treat her like a goddamn queen every single goddamn day. We’d wake up in love, go to sleep in love and we’d go on long, romantic hikes together with our cool dog.”

Connor, Marcello and Matias were practically on the floor as Pierce finally walked out of the locker room, yelling a goodbye behind him towards their assistant coaches. He stopped short as he found himself looking at a mildly chaotic scene with a resigned Kagami in the center. He was being a little neglected but was forcefully kept in the mix by Connor’s grip on his shoulder as the group decided to start ribbing Isaiah and how he was the last person anyone would date because of his terrible attitude. He raised an eyebrow and Kagami just sighed, shrugging off Connor’s arm and gestured at the entire group. 

“Dicks, all of them.” Kagami said, emphatically.

“Well, yes,” Pierce replied, blinking. “You knew that hours into your first day though, so if you haven’t left yet, you’re just a masochist.”

“-alright, fuck you assholes! Pierce, tell these idiots that I can be charming when I want to be and that I could definitely steal Kagami’s girlfriend if I really wanted to.” Isaiah complained from his place on the floor, still trying to get Nigou to lay back down on his lap.

Pierce gasped, scandalized. “Why would you try and ruin sweet Tiger’s relationship? That’s fucked up Izzy!”

Isaiah rolled his eyes.

“So I can keep Nigou, duh,” Isaiah looked at Kagami. “Nothing personal, dude.

“Feels pretty personal,” Kagami replied dryly. “Feels pretty fucking personal when you’re literally planning to break me and my boyfriend up in front of me.”

Then he froze, stiffening up to a degree that everyone was worried that he was going through some kind of episode. The mood shift from playfully upset to actually upset was so sudden that everyone shut up instantly. Isaiah got up, coming to stand in front of the kid concerned.

“Taiga, you okay man?” he asked, already reaching up to tilt Kagami’s face down to look at him. “You know I’m just messing with you, yeah?”

Kagami jerked away, glancing away from the team. He looked a little uncomfortable but defiant as he looked back at them, mouth in a thin line. Nigou was abruptly by his side, hackles raised as he attuned to Kagami’s mood - gone was the cute, sleepy dog that was accepting all the attention and petting from before, there stood a sentry guard dog with big warning teeth.

“What?” Marcello asked faintly. “Dude, what’s wro-. Oh.  _ Oh _ . Ohhh.”

Clearly Marcello understood something that the others didn’t and Kagami only stared hard at the floor.

“Taiga,” Marcello started off gently and oddly enough, a little hurt. “You know none of us are like that. Like at all.”

“Of course.” Kagami replied tightly, defensively.

“No! Seriously,” Marcello continued, trying to make eye contact with Kagami. “I’m not lying. Dude, I’m bisexual and the entire team plus our coaches know it. They have never given me any reason to feel unsafe or unwelcome. None of us would ever be homophobic. I’m so so sorry if any of us ever made you feel like you weren’t allowed to be yourself here.”

There was a sharp gasp that rippled through the team as they realized that that was the issue that got Kagami so worked up. While the world was making strides in being more accepting, it was clear that there were still some deep seated feelings of homophobia in professional sports. With only a handful of openly queer and active professional athletes out there, anyone would be hard-pressed to say that it was necessarily an accepting environment. Hell, the team had to go through sensitivity training after Pierce came out and a few members of the team were not happy to hear that a “gay dude managed to sneak into the team for the chance to harass them in the locker room”. It was painful in ways that Pierce, in his rather accepting little town where he was known as the gay kid that everyone and their cousins met once and loved immediately, rarely experienced. 

Kagami looked at them with wide eyes as the entire team made sure to look at him head on. There was a vulnerability to the set in Kagami’s shoulders that Pierce had never seen before and it made him ache in a way that was hard to explain. It was clear that there was a history, a burden that made them tighten up when he accidentally outed himself; Pierce didn’t want to assume but he had a feeling that the kid hadn’t had the best time when it came to coming out in public. Pierce walked forward and hugged Kagami without a word and slapped his back twice, trying to hold back a sniffle.

“Don’t worry, kid,” Pierce said. “My openly pansexual ass made sure to vet the team and booted out all the homophobes before either you or Marcello got here. It’s safe and we love you.”

Kagami was stiff and awkward in his arms until he finally relaxed, bringing up a single arm to rest across the span of Pierce’s back.

“T-thank you,” he said quietly, making eye contact with everyone over Pierce’s shoulder. “And I’m sorry, I didn’t think any of you  would  be but it’s just been...hard for us.”

“Don’t worry about it, kid,” Isaiah reassured him. “You don’t have to explain yourself at all. Apology accepted and we’re sorry too.”

“And it was kind of our fault anyway, we were assuming your partner was a girl right away even though you specifically used the word ‘partner’.” Connor added, looking sheepish.

“Oh man,” Matias gasped. “Dude, we really out here being dumb as fuck! Sorry Tiger.”

“We’re really sorry, Taiga.” Gabriel said, nearly teary eyed.

Kagami chuckled and shook his head.

“It’s fine, I swear. None of you have done anything to me that made me think any of you could be homophobic assholes. It’s just become an ingrained thing, like an automatic response. My boyfriend is always trying to help me stop acting and reacting without thinking first but it’s been a process.”

“Yeah?” Marcello asked fondly. “Well, whenever you’re comfortable, bring him over to meet the team. We’d love to meet the person who has the thankless job of trying to keep you in line.”

Kagami raised the arm that wasn’t still holding onto Pierce to throw a light punch at Marcello’s chest as he laughed, quiet but full of relief.

“And don’t think this changes anything,” Isaiah quipped, a rare grin on his face. “I can and will steal your man to get access to your dog.”

Kagami just laughed and grinned at his team, beside him Nigou stepped up and sat by his feet in a show of unwavering loyalty now that he felt Kagami calm down. He glanced down at his dog and patted him on the head before he snapped and pointed at the group in front of him. Nigou dropped the guard dog impersonation completely and bounced back over to the guys, completely barreling back into Isaiah’s arms, who just fell back onto the floor and gathered Nigou back into a comfortable position on his lap. 

Isaiah looked up at Kagami with warm eyes.

“For real dude, love this dog. He’s mine now.”

“Yeah yeah yeah,” Kagami replied, rolling his eyes. “Now, um, can someone help get Pierce off of me?”

* * *

Pierce was exhausted as he fell into his chair in Early Western Civ later that afternoon. He was still vaguely emotional after the incident with Kagami after practice and felt warm and sad all at once just remembering it. It didn’t help that coach wrung them dry and worked them harder now that the actual season had started - Pierce had unfortunately fallen into a bout of laziness that he only climbed out of when coach had them for his allotted hours each week. Going back to back to back rigorous five hour practices after lazily going through two hour practices focused mainly on conditioning and maintenance was hell on his body. 

He laid his head down on the table in front of him, careful not to rest his head on the weird never dry stain that a can of Monster left behind. Luckily, Kuro wasn’t coming into class today, he was in another state presenting at a poetry reading, so he could fuck around and sneak in a nap without feeling like a dick when he saw how attentive and diligent Kuro was during class. 

The two of them had sort of gained the reputation of the “smart ones” in class because they were the only two either paying attention or actually answering the professor’s posed questions about the reading assignments. Now, Pierce wasn’t an idiot (always) but he also was never the type to really try and mainly coasted on a trail of Bs and occasional Cs. But in his never ending quest of obtaining both Kuro’s heart and his favor, he ended up studying harder on a throwaway class than he’s studied for  anything after Kuro expressed that he found the class particularly fascinating and interesting - it was just a shame that the professor spoke a little too fast and Kuro wasn’t able to jot down every interesting tidbit in his notes, especially since he was trying to write everything in English.

Pierce, never one to let an opportunity like that pass by, casually dropped sheaves of immaculate notes on their shared table the next day and told Kuro that he absolutely  **loved** taking notes during lecture and didn’t mind sharing them with a friend. Kuro looked up at him with such surprised but pleased eyes that Pierce melted like the fucking soft idiot that he was and ended up taking extensive notes and rewriting them so Kuro would be able to read all the information and not have to suffer through his usually shitty handwriting. It actually forced his brain to retain information and now Pierce could proudly say that unrequited love finally did something good for him.

“Pierce, are you alright?”

Pierce shot up and like a heat seeking missile, looked into Kuro’s eyes. It was a testament to his exhaustion that he didn’t realize that class had started and that he just caused a minor scene with his jumping act.

“Mr. Callahan, are you alright?” their professor asked from the front of the room.

“Uhhh,” Pierce replied, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “I think?”

“Well,” their professor replied, biting their lip. “You don’t look too well, maybe you should head out early and get some rest.”

Pierce blinked, looking at his professor’s earnestly worried face. Fuck, he may start trying in all of his other classes if it meant that he got a lot of concerned sympathy from his professors. Usually they wouldn’t give two fucks if he fell asleep in class but here they were, looking out for him.

“Um, I guess?” he said. “Thank you, I’m sorry for the trouble.”

“No problem at all,” their professor said with a cheery smile. “Mr. Kuroko, can you accompany Mr. Callahan here? He looks a little unstable and I’d feel better knowing he had a friend with him.”

Kuro smiled sweetly at the professor and agreed and with a few moments of packing and reassurances that the professor would send them both lecture notes, the two of them were out of the stuffy confines of the classroom with their professor’s explicit blessing.

“Thanks for the help, Kuro,” Pierce said, grinning down at blue hair. “My coach hasn’t been the kindest this week.”

Kuro looked up and smiled that perfect little smile that made his eyes into happy crescent moons and his cheeks fuller and sweeter, looking like a dream under the shitty fluorescents. God, Pierce hoped that he couldn’t tell that he was swooning.

“Of course, Pierce. I was worried when I came in and you were asleep. You are usually very chipper and attentive.”

God, Kuro was so cute.

“Yeah,” Pierce laughed nervously. “What can I say, I love Early Western Civ!”

He spun around and raised his hands to do something probably dumb, like jazz hands or something (and God, what was it about Kuro that his brain that just shut down whenever he wanted to do something cool or even normal around him? Who even did jazz hands these days?), when he accidentally bumped into the doorframe and stumbled. Kuro caught him in surprisingly strong arms around his waist, his face accidentally pressed against Pierce’s chest as he tried to steady them both. When they were more stable, Kuro looked up at him with big, blue blue  _ blue _ eyes, arms still wrapped as much as they could around Pierce’s body in an unintentional hug, tiny body pressed in a warm line against his and Pierce’s heart ferociously climbed its way into his throat.

“Thank yOu!” he squeaked as Kuro let him go.

He didn’t move back though and instead, soft fingers brushed up his fringe to feel at his forehead. Pierce was probably three steps away from death at this point and felt himself go hot and cold as Kuro hummed and pressed into his personal space.

“You feel a touch warm and look a little flushed. My apartment isn’t too far from here, I have some fever reducers that can help tide you over until you arrive home if you want.”

Did he just die? He must have died.

“YES,” Pierce nearly shrieked. “I mean, thank you so much. Yes, I would really appreciate that.”

Kuro looked at him strangely but must have dismissed it as the supposed fever talking because he just laughed and gently grabbed Pierce’s wrist, leading him out of the building and assumedly towards his apartment. Pierce swooned like he was a heroine straight out of a harlequin romance and fought to stop himself from lacing their fingers together; it wouldn’t do to scare Kuro off right when progress was finally being made.

“Well, come on then. You are not allergic to dogs, right?”

“Oh, am I finally going to meet you son today?” Pierce asked, excited, trying to force his eyes away from Kuro’s slender fingers around his wrist.

“No,” Kuro replied with a shuttered look. “He’s spending a little more time at the vet to ensure he’s okay to stay home after an earlier scare.”

Pierce furrowed his brow, worried. “Vet? What happened? Is everything okay?”

As far as Pierce knew, Kuro was supposed to be out on a school event until the weekend. That, coupled with the fact that it was the first week back into basketball season, made it the perfect time for him to track down Kagami and get some dating tips from a long term monogamous dude before all hell broke loose and he wouldn’t have time to do anything but breathe, eat and play basketball. 

Pierce stopped them right before they entered the lobby of Kuro’s building, a few pieces of the puzzle falling into place. He actually looked at Kuro this time, trying not to get distracted by his cute everything and took him by his shoulders to take a closer look. Kuro looked tired and Kuro, who was always put together, who always managed to make any hallway look like a catwalk as he briskly made his way to class, had a bit of a rumple around his edges that Pierce had never seen before. 

“Wait, what are you even doing back in class? Aren’t you supposed to be in Arizona right now? Fuck, Kuro, you look exhausted! Are we sure  _ you’re _ not sick?”

Kuro reached up and gently removed his hands off of his shoulders and squeezed them in reassurance. While Pierce’s heart was stuttering, Kuro continued to guide him and walked into the building, only looking back to make sure Pierce was following.

“Thank you for worrying, but I am fine,” Kuro said, not at all convincing as they climbed into the elevator. “I came back because of my son, as it were, he had a bad reaction to something he ate. I came back to make sure he was alright.”

“Oh Kuro,” Pierce gasped. “I’m so sorry, is he okay?”

“Yes,” Kuro replied warmly, despite his face still looking pale and withdrawn. “I was able to comfort and hold him before he left back to a final check up. I was told to stay and relax at home but honestly, I was feeling a little restless and decided to go to class anyway.”

“Oh, well, that’s good news right?” Pierce fretted. “Do you want me to get out of your hair so you can go and get him?”

“Ah, no,” Kuro looked a little sheepish, almost shy as he fidgeted with his keys in front of what was presumably his apartment. “He will be back in half an hour and I appreciate your company as it takes my mind off of, well, everything.”

He turned to face his door and Pierce felt his heart race and nearly give out when he saw that the tips of Kuro’s ears were red. And this was his moment, fuck, it was like the universe was screaming at him to make a move now now  _ now _ . The air between them was rife with potential and Pierce reached up, wanting to finally hold Kuro’s hand and say anything when the door to his apartment opened, stopping Pierce in his tracks.

“And plus,” Kuro continued, the red receding from his ears and cheeks. “I can’t very well let you leave without painkillers at the least.”

Well fuck, there went that perfect moment.

But before he could get too wrapped up in his mourning, Pierce laid eyes on the very cute and very homey apartment and resisted the urge to jump onto the huge cushy looking couch and make himself at home. Everything was in various shades of camel, navy and grey, warm and cozy but clean and well put together like the living embodiment of Kuro himself. The place even smelled like vanilla which had started to affect Pierce in a distinctly Pavlovian way - he was miserable trailing after his sister candle shopping for their great aunt’s birthday the other day but a single vanilla and cotton candle put him at ease nearly immediately.

“Oh wow,” Pierce said. “Kuro, your place puts goddamn magazines to shame. You don’t even have a gross pile of laundry sitting in the corner like a normal person!”

“Don’t go into my bedroom,” Kuro joked, placing his messenger bag onto a hook by the door. “Please leave your shoes here, I have slippers that will fit you to borrow.”

Pierce tried not to show just how giddy he was that he was just so easily being welcomed into Kuro’s home but let himself bounce around in slippers that were a touch too big and followed Kuro into his kitchen. Much like the living room, everything was neat and organized (he even had labeled glass jars!), clean and bright but clearly lived in. There were a plate of cookies sitting covered on the counter and Pierce wondered if he would be able to ask for one without sounding like a child asking his babysitter for a snack. He peeked around the rest of the space as Kuro shuffled around in a small pantry, making considering noises as he moved around clacking bottles of pills. Kuro had a small dining area in the next room over but it looked like he opted for it to be a home gym, a few bulky machines taking up most of the space. It was a little strange to see since Kuro didn’t really seem to be the gym rat type but what did he know? There were a few gym bags hanging off the pull up dip station and-.

Oh my God.

“Kuro! Do you play basketball?!”

Well, he could have delivered it with less of a crazed delight but the minute he alighted on a pair of nearly vintage Asics and a pair of basketballs in a box frame on the mantle he couldn’t help it. 

“Hm? Oh yes, mostly in high school. I play now and then with friends for fun however.”

“Oh my God, Kuro! We could have been playing together this entire time?” 

Pierce was so close to losing it, it wasn’t funny. Just when he thought he couldn’t get any more infatuated with the guy, he goes and reveals that he used to play with a team the sport that owns Pierce’s entire heart.

“Do you play?” Kuro asked, popping his head out of the pantry with curious eyes.

“Yes! I’m UCLA’s starting shooting guard! That’s why I was so fucked up in Western Civ, the season started this week so our coach has been going into tyrant mode and tried to kill us today.” 

“Oh dear,” Kuroko replied, worrying at his bottom lip looking mildly distressed. “Has the season already started? I can’t believe that slipped my mind. He must be so tired.”

Pierce missed that last part because he bulldozed in his reply, the blood rushing in his ears in his excitement.

“Yeah! Regular games are gonna start up in like two weeks - oh fuck, do you want to go to one of my games? I mean, like, if you’re not busy or anything or like if you actually want to?”

“Oh? I’m sure that I will be going to all of them but I will be sure to cheer you on.” Kuro replied with a tight smile, looking vaguely stressed, not that Pierce even noticed at that moment he was too caught up in the image of Kuro sitting courtside with his jersey on cheering and celebrating every time he scored.

It was a little bit Disney Channel Original Movie fantasy, even for him, but fuck if it didn’t get Pierce feeling all sorts of sappy and in love.

“COOL,” Pierce said nearly yelling again. “I mean, super cool. Would love to see you in the crowd. Uh yeah, anyway...I don’t want to take up all your time so I should head out soon? Yeah, yeah that sounds good.”

Pierce genuinely didn’t know if he could stay any longer in Kuro’s perfect little home with it’s perfect ambient lighting, perfect light vanilla scent and perfect soft home slippers and life changing revelations before he was going to slip into a goddamn coma from how beautiful and domestic and perfect it all was.

“I apologize, please I have a few painkillers here before you go. Would you like tea or water?”

“Water, please! And you’re a consummate host too? Don’t you ever get tired of being so perfect?”

But for fucking real, how did Pierce get so lucky?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pierce: he's perfect :)  
> me, repeatedly shoving pierce's head into a pile of kagakuro hints: why are you so DUMB
> 
> anyway, i'm sorry it took so long. please take this somewhat long chapter as an apology. thanks for reading.
> 
> (and for research purposes, if you want to comment, can you pls also include how long it took you to finish this chapter? thanks!)

**Author's Note:**

> set before the events of "love you til your eyes roll back" and "what we got"; an excuse to introduce kagami's teammates and the various college shenanigans they get into.
> 
> i decided to repost this as a separate story since it is part of this universe!
> 
> i have a twitter now - [@glazingao3](https://twitter.com/glazingao3)! teach me how to use it, i guess? as usual, let me know if you see any glaring mistakes, thanks.


End file.
